- Author: Mary E. Reed
Drs. Adel A. Kader and Lisa Kitinoja recently served as instructors in a series of cold chain management workshops in India. The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) is conducting a year long project including workshops in 4 major cities in India to encourage development of new postharvest technology investments and to strengthen the country’s existing cold chain infrastructure. The objective of USTDA's cold chain project is to improve the handling of high value perishable produce and products, including those coming from the U.S., via activities to facilitate improvements in the management of the cold chain in India.
The program began in November 2007 with a series of workshops in India and provided state-of-the-art training to stakeholders in the Indian cold chain regarding proper post-harvest handling, food safety practices, cold storage and transportation of fresh fruits, vegetables and other perishable commodities. The first two workshops were attended by 50 participants each in Chennai and Mumbai and these will be followed by two more workshops in New Delhi and Calcutta (scheduled for early March 2008). Following the workshop series in India, a select group of workshop attendees will be brought to the United States for a study tour in 2008 to receive more specialized training.
The Peoples Group, Ltd (TPG), is responsible for the managing the project under contract with USTDA. The International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses/World Food Logistics Organization (IARW/WFLO) is designing and managing the Indian workshops with TPG. The U.S. study tour is being organized by Drs. Eric Thor and Phil Stiles of the Morrison School of Management and Agribusiness of Arizona State University.
Anyone in India who is interested in attending the March 2008 workshops in New Delhi or Calcutta can visit the website http://usicca.org/usi/intro.htm to find the complete three day Agenda and Application Form.
[Photo by Lisa Kitinoja]
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